Ice maker with water precooling coil



y 3, 1966 L. STILLER 3,248,898

ICE MAKER WITH WATER PRECOOLING COIL Filed Oct. 29. 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l LEONARD ST/LLER INVENTOR.

WWW M1147 May 3, 1986 L. STILLER ICE MAKER WITH WATER PRECOOLING COIL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 29, 1964 LEON/1RD ST/LLER INVENTOR.

United States Patent ICE MAKER WITH WATER PRECOOLING COIL Leonard Stiller, Miami, Fla, assignor to Lasco Industries, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla, a corporation of Florida Filed Oct. 29, 1%4, Ser. No. 407,411 4 Claims. (Cl. 62-354) This invention relates to an ice forming machine and, more particularly, to an ice forming maker which is adapted for making ice from sea water.

In the past, numerous attempts have been made to provide a relatively inexpensive ice forming machine which would be able to transfer liquid sea water into a frozen or solid state. The instant invention provides such a machine which is particularly adaptable for use on, small fishing craft and similar installations. The invention utilizes a precooler coil jacket which is in co-cylindrical relation to a coolant jacket and separated therefrom by a thin strip of insulation. The thin strip of insulation maintains the coolant coil jacket and the precooler coil jacket in limited heat exchanging contact so that the water being precooled is chilled but not frozen to clog up in the pipe and stop flow of fluid to be frozen.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a salt water freezing machine which includes a precooler coil jacket for salt water in coaxial relation with a coolant coil jacket, the said jackets being co-cylindrical about a freezing cylinder and separated from each other by a .thin strip of insulation with the coolant coil jacket being between the outer precooler jacket and the freezing chamher and in full heat exchanging contact with the cylinder.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a salt water ice making machine which is relatively compact in design, inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adjusted for the uses and purposes specified.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be'described with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a foreshortened elevation view, partly in cross section, of the ice-making machine of the instant invention.

FIGURE 2 is an elevation view similar to that of FIGURE 1 taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1, looking in the direction of the arrow, and illustrating the interior of the ice making apparatus of the instant invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a'plan view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1 and looking in the direction of the arrow.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, and referring particularly to FIGURE 1, the numeral 11 generally designates the machine which includes (a) a central ice making chamber 12, defined by the cylinder 14, of heat conductive material, (b) an auger 16 in the cylinder and connected, as by the belt 18, to a driving means not shown, (c) a coolant conducting coil jacket 20 in heat exchanging contact with the cylinder, (d) a precooler coil jacket 22 adjacent the coolant coil jacket and separated therefrom by the thin insulation strip 24 of cylindrical form in co-cylindrical relation to the cylinder, all of the said elements being imbedded in an insulation coating 26 which is relatively thick.

As indicated in FIGURE 1, coolant from a compressor, not shown, is flowed through the conductor 28 and an expansion valve 30, and, thence, through the coil jacket to the bottom of the cylinder for return to the compressor through the line along the path indicated by the numeral 30. In operation, the coolant is preferably at a temperature such that the interior of the chamber is at a tem- 3,248,898 Patented May 3, 1966 perature of about ---50 F., which is a sufficiently low temperature to freeze salt water relatively rapidly. Referring to FIGURE 2, salt water is conducted into the freezing chamber through the inlet port 32 near the bottom 34 of the chamber. On contact with the interior periphery of the cylinder, it rapidly changes into a slush which is traveled through the freezing chamber by the blade 36 of the auger for discharge in a chipped or flaked, but solid state, at the hooded mouth 38, which is provided with a lid 40 and deflect-or hood 42, to cause the ice to drop to a collection point not shown.

The salt water is conducted to the inlet through a pipe 44, see FIGURE 1, and through the precooler coil jacket before passing through the pipe 46 to the aforesaid inlet port.

As can be seen in FIGURE 2, the precooler coil jacket is in surrounding relation or co-cylindrical relation to the coolant coil jacket of cylindrical form, but is not in direct touching contact with it, being separated therefrom by the thin insulation strip of cylindrical form 24.

The following is not intended to be limited to the invention as claimed; it is submitted as a preferred embodiment and to explain an application of it. Quite often the temperature of water to be frozen is in the temperature range of about F. The instant freezing cylinder has been found to be satisfactory when of an inside diameter of three inches and a height of twenty-seven inches with the coil jackets being of pipping with a lthree-eighths inch or one-half inch diameter and the thickness of the insulation strip or tape 24 being in the order of A of an inch. The thin insulation strip separating the jacket cools the water to be frozen in the precooler jacket to approximately 45 F. for entrance into the freezing chamber. In the past, the absence of the insulation strip has caused attempts to precool the water to fail because the water freezes and clogs the precooler conductive path; and in the instant invention this does not occur; the thin coating 24, which is preferably of a plastic material permits only restricted or limited heat exchange between the jackets. Also, satisfactory results have been obtained with the insulation coating 24 of conventional linoleum material.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in a most practical embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be awarded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.

What is claimed is:

1. An ice making machine comprising a cylinder defining therein a freezing chamber, means for introducing water into said freezing chamber, means for chilling said chamber to form ice on the wall thereof including a helical coolant tube encircling said cylinder through which a coolant is adapted to be passed, auger means for removing ice from said chamber wall, said Water introducing means including a helical water pre-cooling tube encircling at least a portion of said coolant tube and at one end leading into said chamber, and a strip of insulation of cylindrical form between said tubes to retard the transfer of heat from said water precooling tube to said coolant tube.

2. An ice making machine comprising a cylinder defining therein a freezing chamber, a water inlet near one end of said cylinder, means for chilling said chamber to form ice on the wall thereof including a helical coolant tube encircling said cylinder through which a coolant is adapted to be passed, an ice outlet near the opposite end of said cylinder, auger means in said chamber for removing ice from said chamber wall and discharging the same through said outlet, said helical coolant ,tube encircling said cylinder from said outlet to said inlet, a helical water pre-cooling tube connected to said inlet and encircling said coolant tube from said inlet throughout a portion of the length of said coolant tube, means for admitting water to said pro-cooling tube, and a strip of insulation of cylindrical form between said tubes to retard the transfer of heat from said water pre-cooling tube to said coolant tube.

3. An ice making machine comprising an upright cylinder defining therein a cylindrical freezing chamber, a water inlet to said chamber near the lower end of said cylinder, means for chilling sai-d chamber to form ice on the 'wall thereof including a helical coolant tube encircling said cylinder, means for introducing coolant into the upper end of said coolant tube and for withdrawing the same from the lower end of said coolant tube, an ice outlet from said chamber near the upper end of said cylinder, a rotatable anger in said chamber for removing ice from said chamber wall and discharging the same through said outlet, said helical coolant tube encircling said cylinder from said outlet to said inlet, a helical water pre-cooling tube connected to said inlet and encircling said coolant tube from said inlet upwardly throughout approximately the lower half portion of said coolant tube,

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,080,639 5/ 1937 Taylor 62-354 2,478,220 8/ 1949 Alexander 62-399 2,594,502 4/1952 Sahs 62-399 X 2,622,854 12/1952 Bendfelt 62-394 X 2,962,878 12/1960 Keller 62-320 3,034,311 5/1962 Nelson 62-320 MEYER PERLIN, Primary Examiner. ROBERT A. OLEARY, Examiner.

W. E. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN ICE MAKING MACHINE COMPRISING A CYLINDER DEFINIGN THEREIN A FREEZING CHAMBER, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING WATER INTO SAID FREEZING CHAMEBR MEANS FOR CHILLING SAID CHAMBER TO FORM ICE ON THE WALL THEREOF INCLUDING A HELICAL COOLANT TUBE ENCIRCLING SAID CYLINDER THROUGHOUT WHICH A COOLANT IS ADAPTED TO BE PASSES, AUGER MEANS FOR REMOVING ICE FROM SAID CHAMBER WALL, SAID WATER INTRODUCING MEANS INCLUDING A HELICAL WATER PRE-COOLING TUBE ENCIRCLING AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID COOLANT TUBE AND AT ONE END LEADING INTO SAID CHAMBER, AND A STRIP OF INSULATION OF CYLINDRICAL FORM BETWEEN SAID TUBES TO RETARD THE TRANSFER OF HEAT FROM SAID WATER PRECOOLING TUBE TO SAID COOLANT TUBE. 